Toepiece for cross-country skiing

ABSTRACT

A toepiece for binding a boot to a cross-country ski, comprising a base plate for attachment to the ski, a lip for clamping the toe of a boot in the base plate, and means for causing the clamping. The means includes a first order lever on which the lip is mounted, and a bell crank for actuating the lever.

14 1 Sept. 23, 1975 United States Patent [191 Berlied, Jr.

[ TOEPIECE FOR CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS rawn mum 0 0 NSN Concord, Mass.

Nov. 23, 1973 Appl. N0.: 418,446

Primary ExaminerDavid Schonberg Assistant ExaminerDavid M. Mitchell [22]Filed:

Attorney, Agent, or FirmNorman S. Blodgett; Gerry A. Blodgett M S V. r tn u o 4 S S 0 r C a m w A m R 0 T b M a g .m d .m b r m e C .m P e l. o7 t 5A 0 man 3 3 1C1 13 0 8A 2 "5 ""3 m1 "m5 WUB NW NW m 1 0 M mmh r. "3"8 HS L 1 C M SLe i UIF 1]] 2 8 555 [ll comprising a base plate forattachment to the ski, a lip [56] References Clted for clamping the toeof a boot in the base plate, and UNITED STATES PATENTS means for causingthe clamping. The means includes a a d n a d e t m 0 a r m u S g .1 n M2. w n e i c m m e h .w h Wm s m 0M 3 l u v 6 0 f r k Mn m 0C 9L] sl efib BBZB US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 1 of 2 3,907,319

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 2 of2 TOEPIECE FOR CROSS-COUNTRY SKIINGBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been estimated that skis have beenused as basic winter transportation for over 2,000 years. Even todayskiing represents both a sport and a means of survival in many countriesof the world. The activity of skiing is now rather rigidly dividedbetween alpine skiing, which is concerned with the descending of slopes;jumping, which involves airborne trajectory; and crosscountry ortouring, which involves getting from one place to another on snow. It isthe latter which is of primary interest here.

The main equipment problem in cross-country skiing is the binding bywhich the boot is held on the ski. Efficient cross-country skiingrequires that the binding (1 stop any movement of the toe of the bootincluding accidental release, (2) allow the heel of the boot to movefreely in the horizontal plane longitudinal to the ski, and (3) stop anyheel movement out of the plane. In addition, the binding must be quickand easy to get into and out of. Also, its function must be uneffectedby accumulation of ice and snow.

The original cross-country bindings involved leather straps tied to theboots and skis. That arrangement was dificient in all respects. Theaddition of buckles added little to removing the general awkwardness.The major breakthrough came with the invention of the metal toepiece. Inthis design a toepiece is attached to the ski, the toepiece beingcapable of enclosing the toe of the boot. A leather strap passed fromthe toepiece back around the heel of the boot and forward to thetoepiece. Its purpose was to hold the boot in the toepiece. Thestretching of the leather and the poor lateral support of the strap leftmuch to be desired.

The next breakthrough involved replacing the leather strap and bucklewith a metal cable and toggle-type tightener. This arrangement gavedependable maintenance of the toe in the toepiece; andv by properlyanchoring the cable back from the toepiece, lateral support of the heelcould be improved although at the sacrifice of freedom of verticalmovement.

The binding field was revolutionized with the invention of the pin-typetoepiece, which eliminated the need for straps or cables altogether. Theidea was that if a row of vertical pins were provided in the toepiece,and a row of corresponding holes were provided in the toe of the boot,and means were provided to hold the pins and holes together, the bootwould be held in the toepiece without additional hardware. Both goodvertical heel freedom and lateral support result; and, in addition, theretail price of the required binding was nearly halved.

The pin-type toepiece involves a horizontal plate with vertical sideswhich enclose the sides of the toe of the boot. A row of three or fourvertically-directed pins extend from the horizontal plate and engageholes in the bottom of the toe of the boot. A wire bail, pivoted to thesides of the toepiece comes down over the welt of toe of the boot andengages a clip, positioned just ahead of the toepiece. The clip holdsthe bail in tension against the welt of the boot. This, in turn, holdsthe boot in engagement with the pins. The difficulties with thisarrangement generally involve locking and releas ing the bindings in thecold, using hands covered with heavy mittens. Engaging and disengagingthe clip while bent over, in winter clothes, with mittens, and with thebinding covered with snow can .be quite frustrating. Also, the fact thatthe clip is exposed to the elements and to underbrush can result inicing and accidental release. These and other difficulties experiencedwith the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by thepresent invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide atoepiece which will fix the toe of a boot firmly to a ski while allowingthe heel to move vertically but not laterally with respect to the ski.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a toepiece whichlocks and releases the boot with a minimum of difficulty.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a toepiecewhich is adapted for use with all boots using standard pin-typetoepieces.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a toepieceinwhich the mechanical parts are protected from accumulation of ice andsnow by an integral cover.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a toepiecewhich resists accidental release yet releases easily when release isdesired.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a toepiece which issimple and inexpensive to manufacture and capable of a long and usefullife.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention involves a toepiece for holdinga boot on a cross-country or touring ski. The toepiece involves a baseplate which is fixed to the ski and encloses the sides of the toe of theboot, a plurality of vertical pins which engage the bottom of the toe ofthe boot, and a clamp which from time to time holds the toe of the bootin engagement with the pins. The clamp involves a lip which engages thewelt of the toe of the boot, a lip carrier which is a first-order leverattached to the base plate and which holds the lip on one arm, and abinding means which acts on the other arm of the lever to operate thelip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 2, i

FIG.,'.4 is a diagrammatic view of the toepiece in its open position,

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the toepiece in an intermediateposition, and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the toepiece in its closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1,wherein is shown a general view of the invention in use, the skier 40 isshown wearing boots 20. The toes'of the boots are fastened to skis 16 bytoepieces I0. Throughout this description, recitation of direction suchas forward, lateral, etc., should be taken as with respect to skier andtoepieces in this mode of use.

Referring to FIG. 2, wherein are best shown the general features of thepresent invention, the toepiece, indicated generally by the referencenumeral 10, is shown as having a base plate 11, a plurality of pins 12,and a clamp 13.

The base plate 11, includes a horizontal plate 14 which is fixed to theupper horizontal surface 15 of the ski 16 by screws 17. The lateraledges of the horizontal plate 14 are bounded by vertical plates 18. Thehorizontal plate extends forward with respect to the ski 16 to a forwardportion 19.

Extending vertically from the central portion of the horizontal plate 14are a plurality of pins 12 which engage correspondingly positioned holesin the bottom of the toe of a boot 20. This relation stops horizontalmovement of the boot.

As shown in FIG. 2, the clamp 13 includes a lip car rier 2.1, a bindingmeans 22, and a spring 23.

Referring to FIG. 3, wherein the details of the clamp are best shown,the lip carrier 21 is pivoted at the lip carrier pivot 24 about ahorizontal axis, lateral to the ski. The back arm 25 of the lip carrier21 is formed into a lip 26 suitable for exerting downward pressure onthe upper surface of the welt of the toe of a boot 20 when the lip is initsdownward position. The lip carrier 21 also has a forward arm 27. AU-shaped leaf spring 23 is provided to bias the lip carrier 21 so thatthe lip is in its upward position.

Pivotally mounted on the forward end 27 of the lip carrier 21 onhorizontal and lateral binding axis 28, is a binding means 29. Thebinding means 29 is formed of a box-like closing lever 33 having a topplate 30, a front plate 31, and two side plates 32. The closing lever 33has a roller 34 or contactor connected between the side plates 32 attheir lower front corners. Above and to the rear, the roller axis 35 isthe binding axis which, as mentioned above, connects the binding means29 to the forward end 27 of the lip carrier 21. In viewing themechanical working of the closing lever 33, it is useful to consider itas a bell crank or angular lever, having a first arm between the bindingaxis 28 and the roller axis 35, and a second arm extending from thebinding axis 28 along the top plate 30. The closing lever 33 is shapedso that it can rest on the forward end of the base plate 1 and enclose alarge part of the top and sides of the forward end of the base plate anda large part of the lip carrier 21.

The use and operation of the invention will now be readily understood inview of the above description and FIGS. 4, and 6 which diagrammaticallyportray the steps by which the invention is closed for use. FIG. 4 showsthe toepiece in its open position, with its lip 26 and closing lever 33in their open positions. The boot is placed on the pin 12. The rolleraxis 35 is po sitioned close to the lip carrier 21.

FIG. 5 shows the effect of moving the closing lever 33 rearward. Thepivoting action about the binding axis 29 causes the roller axis 35 tomove away from the lip carrier 21. As a result, roller 34 contacts baseplate 1 1 and exerts an upward force on the binding axis 28. Thisresults in a downward movement of the lip 26 toward the boot 20 and pin12. This downward movement of the lip 26 will continue until the bindingaxis 28 and roller axis 35 are lined up vertically, and the closinglever is almost at the extent of its downward and rearward travel.

FIG. 6 shows the toepiece 10 in its closed position ready for use. Ofimportance are the positions of the lip 26 and the closing lever 33, andthe relative position of the binding axis 28 and the roller axis 35. Thelip 26 is in its downward position, thereby making it impossible toremove the boot 20 from the pins 12. The lip is locked in this positionbecause the roller axis is positioned slightly ahead of the binding axis28. Upward pressure on the lip 26 is converted by the lip carrier 21 todownward pressure on the binding axis 28. This, in turn, results in aforwardly directed pressure on the roller axis 35 which effects adownward pressure on the rearward end of the closing clamp 33. Since theclosing clamp 33 is already at its limit, upward pressure on the lip hasno effect. On the other hand, the simple lifting of the rearward end ofthe closing lever 33, reverses the closing process and allows the boot20 to be removed. The considerable mechanical advantage in the closinglever 33 allows the operations of opening and closing to be accomplishedwith surprising ease.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent l. A toepiece for fixing the toe ofa boot to a ski, comprising:

a. a base plate to be fixed to the upper horizontal surface of the ski,

b. a vertical pin extending upwardly from the base plate to engage anaperture in a bottom surface of the toe of the boot,

0. a lip movable between a first upper position and a second lowerposition where it engages an upper surface of the toe of the boot, thelip holding the toe of the boot on the base plate while in the secondposition, and not interfering with the boot in the first position,

d. a lip carrier having a first end that carries the lip, and a secondend, the lip carrier being pivotally mounted between its first andsecond ends to the base plate on a horizontal axis lateral to the ski,

e. binding means for causing the lip to engage and disengage the boot bycontrolling the distance between the second end of the lip carrier andthe base plate, and thereby moving the lip between its first positionand its second position, the binding means including a closing leverpivotally mounted to the second end of the lip carrier, the closinglever having a first arm which is positioned between the second end ofthe lip carrier and the base plate, and a second arm, the movement ofthe second arm being limited from an open, generally vertical positionwhich causes the lip to be in its first position free of the boot andcauses upward force on the lip to be ineffective in moving the lip fromits second lower position to its first upper position, to a closedgenerally horizontal position directed rearwardly from the pivot withthe carrier, which causes the lip to be in its second position incontact with the boot and, during that movement, the first arm movingfrom a first position on one side of the vertical plane including theaxis between the closing lever and the lip carrier, to a second positionon the other side of the plane, thereby forming an overcenter mechanismwhich forces the lip against the toe of the boot, the closing leverbeing in the form of a cover which encloses a portion of the base plateand lip carrier when the second arm is in its closed position, theclosing lever including a top plate, a front plate and two side platesarranged so that when the second arm is in its closed position the toplies horizontal and above the axis between the lip carrier and the baseplate, the front plate extends downwardly from the forward edge of thetop plate and the side plates extend downwardly from the side edges ofthe top plate laterally outward of the laterally outward edges of thebase plate, and a spring means to bias the lip toward its first uppercontacts the base plate, and the contactor is a greater verticaldistance from the lip carrier when the first arm is in its secondposition than when it is in its first position, and the contactor ishorizontally further from the first end of the lip carrier than thepivot between the lip carrier and the closing lever is when in thesecond position but it not in the first position.

3. A toepiece as recited in claim 2, wherein the contactor is acylinder.

1. A toepiece for fixing the toe of a boot to a ski, comprising: a. abase plate to be fixed to the upper horizontal surface of the ski, b. avertical pin extending upwardly from the base plate to engage anaperture in a bottom surface of the toe of the boot, c. a lip movablebetween a first upper position and a second lower position where itengages an upper surface of the toe of the boot, the lip holding the toeof the boot on the base plate while in the second position, and notinterfering with the boot in the first position, d. a lip carrier havinga first end that carries the lip, and a second end, the lip carrierbeing pivotally mounted between its first and second ends to the baseplate on a horizontal axis lateral to the ski, e. binding means forcausing the lip to engage and disengage the boot by controlling thedistance between the second end of the lip carrier and the base plate,and thereby moving the lip between its first position and its secondposition, the binding means including a closing lever pivotally mountedto the second end of the lip carrier, the closing lever having a firstarm which is positioned between the second end of the lip carrier andthe base plate, and a second arm, the movement of the second arm beinglimited from an open, generally vertical position which causes the lipto be in its first position free of the boot and causes upward force onthe lip to be ineffective in moving the lip from its second lowerposition to its first upper position, to a closed generally horizontalposition directed rearwardly from the pivot with the carrier, whichcauses the lip to be in its second position in contact with the bootand, during that movement, the first arm moving from a first position onone side of the vertical plane including the axis between the closinglever and the lip carrier, to a second position on the other side of theplane, thereby forming an over-center mechanism which forces the lipagainst the toe of the boot, the closing lever being in the form of acover which encloses a portion of the base plate and lip carrier whenthe second arm is in its closed position, the closing lever including atop plate, a front plate and two side plates arranged so that when thesecond arm is in its closed position the top lies horizontal and abovethe axis between the lip carrier and the base plate, the front plateextends downwardly from the forward edge of the top plate and the sideplates extend downwardly from the side edges of the top plate laterallyoutward of the laterally outward edges of the base plate, and f. aspring means to bias the lip toward its first upper position and therebybias the first arm of the closing lever into contact with the baseplate, the spring means including a U-shaped spring which passes aroundthe axis between the lip carrier and the base plate and which contactsthe lip carrier and the base plate.
 2. A toepiece as recited in claim 1,wherein the first arm of the closing lever carrier a contactor whichcontacts the base plate, and the contactor is a greater verticaldistance from the lip carrier when the first arm is in its secondposition than when it is in its first position, and the contactor ishorizontally further from the first end of the lip carrier than thepivot between the lip carrier and the closing lever is when in thesecond position but it not in the first position.
 3. A toepiece asrecited in claim 2, wherein the contactor is a cylinder.